1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cord winding devices. More specifically, cable winding devices and mechanisms for providing direct cable to electrical component connections without brush contacts are disclosed.
2. Description of Related Art
Cable or cord winding devices employing various cable winding mechanisms have been proposed and commercialized for winding various cables such as telephone cables, power cords, and the like. Cable winding devices are often provided for convenience, safety, ease of use, and/or to prevent entanglement of the cable itself and/or with other cables or objects. Cables are typically wound onto one or more take-up reels of the cable winding device.
One example of a cable winding mechanism often used for telephone cables employs a pair of mid-cable take-up reels or spools positioned near the midpoint of the cable from which the take-up reels wind up the opposite segments of the cable. The midpoint of the telephone cable is secured between the two take-up reels that may share a common torsional spring drive or power spring drive so as to enable the opposite segments of the cable to be wound about the two take-up reels. The reel mechanism is thus located at approximately the midpoint of the cable and the cable extends approximately equally from each of the two reels.
Another example of a cable winding mechanism is a single take-up reel or spool positioned near the end of a cable to be wound onto the take-up reel. The take-up reel can be coupled to a torsional spring drive to facilitate in winding the cable about the reel or spool. The single take-up reel mechanism is thus located at approximately the end of the cable to be wound.
In certain applications such as in telephone applications, it may be desirable to provide electronics and/or electronic controls on the cable winding device. A printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) containing the electronics and/or electronic controls may be provided within the cable winding device. Brush contacts may be used to provide the electrical connection between the cable and the electronics on the PCBA. For example, the cable may be broken into two segments. One segment of the cable entering the cable winding device can be wired directly to the PCBA and is not to be wound by cable winding device. The other segment of the cable that is to be wound by the cable winding device can be attached to the spool and electrically connected to the PCBA via brush contacts. Each brush contact may correspond to a circular contact ring provided on the PCBA such that each brush contact is in constant contact with the corresponding circular contact ring. In addition, when the cable is being wound onto or unwound from the cable winding device, each brush contact travels in a circular direction along the corresponding circular contact ring such that the two cable segments form continuous electrical paths from one cable segment to the other via the PCBA.
However, such constant contact between the brush contacts and the circular contact rings results in the brush contacts rubbing against the corresponding circular contact ring each time the cable is wound or unwound. Thus the brush contacts may have a shorter cycle life and may be less reliable than a direct connection to a circuit component or PCB. Brush contacts are also relatively expensive.
In addition, depending on the particular application and the number of wires contained in the cable, a relatively large number of contact rings and brush contacts may need to be provided on the PCBA and the cable, respectively. A large number of contact rings and brush contacts not only increases the cost of the cable winding device but may also necessitate a larger PCBA and thus a larger cable winding device in order to provide the area needed for the desired number of contact rings. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a mechanism for a cost effective and reliable electrical connection between a cable and the PCBA on a cable winding device.